1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mechanisms for routing, supporting, and storing fiber optic jumpers.
2. Background Art
Fiber optic troughs carry and route cables such as fiber optic jumpers. Certain troughs called “raceways” horizontally extend over network equipment such as fiber distributing frames and bays which make up a fiber optics environment. The raceways are similar in design to rain gutters. Jumpers placed inside the raceways run along the raceways from point-to-point. Jumpers exit the raceways through exit troughs to connect with the network equipment.
Network equipment includes electronic shelving mounted into relay racks. Such relay racks are also known as bay frameworks and equipment bays. The jumpers exiting from a raceway typically run vertically down the sides of the relay rack to connect with the network equipment. Such jumpers may also run vertically down through a duct located inside the relay rack to connect with the network equipment. The relay rack sides and the duct represent standard vertical trough systems. Such standard vertical trough systems allow jumper access in/out of the equipment bays but do not take jumper bend radius control or jumper slack management into consideration.
Jumper bend radius control is important as jumpers should not be bent beyond a minimum curvature radius of 1.5 inches in order to ensure their proper signal transmission characteristics. Jumper slack management control is important, as the actual length of jumpers routed through raceways and network equipment in a fiber optics environment is usually much greater than the length physically required for the jumpers to be connected between termination points in the fiber optics environment.
As a result of the deficiencies associated with the standard vertical trough systems, relay racks have been augmented on their sides with costly trough systems having bend radius limiters. Such a trough system generally includes a metal trough that is a part of (or attached to) a relay rack and runs vertically along the relay rack. The bend radius limiters fit in certain limited areas relative to the relay rack based upon constraints of the metal trough. In addition, once the metal trough is in place the metal trough and the bend radius limiters do not have the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of a fiber optics environment.
It is recognized that jumpers should have an extra length (commonly known as “slack”) than the length actually required for being connected to termination points in a fiber optics environment for two reasons. First, the extra length enables jumpers to have a loose fit and therefore be able to slide over one another without hindrance. Second, the extra length enables jumpers to transmit optical signals correctly by not reducing the length of the jumpers so that the actual wavelength distance (generally considered at five feet) between connectors remains consistent.
As such, there is a need to store jumper slack next to network equipment including relay racks or within fiber distribution frames. A fiber distribution frame is made up of relay racks linked together by a horizontal and vertical trough system. Both relay racks and fiber distribution frames require jumper slack and jumper bend radius management.